Review of "House of 1000 Corpses" (2003) (DVD)
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This movie is one of the most anticipated horror films of recent memory has hit DVD. I checked it out and while I was entertained, I don't see anything but Rob Zombie trying to turn a done-to-death premise into something artsy.
The DVD is excellent. It's chocked full of goodies from the "so pointless it's hilarious" featurette "Tiny Fucked a Stump" to director's commentary to cast interviews. Definitely a 4-star DVD. It's the movie that kind of left me a little undecided as to whether or not my purchase was worth it.
It's the same old Texas Chainsaw Massacre type synopsis with a few things thrown in the make it different. A group of friends are traveling across country for whatever reason (no need to go into it) and they end up stranded at an old house with a crazy family. It works for TCM, which was created in 1978 - in 2003, it's been done to death. I watched "Wrong Turn" recently, which is similar to this one but I (for some reason) enjoyed much, much more. "House of 1000 Corpses" plays more like a dark comedy than a horror film - but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm not knocking the movie - just the storyline.
I can't really knock the acting at all. Bill Moseley is awesome as Otis. Otis reminds me of Chop Top of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 which is one of my favorite all time horror flicks. Ironically they are both played by Moseley. Anyway...the actors make the movie, as they make the off the wall characters come to life in excellent fashion. Captain Spalding is so hilarious. I could have stood for there to be more of him in the film. He is easily my favorite character. He makes the movie definitely more of a comedy than a horror film.
Overall, "House of a 1000 Corpses" is a fun movie. Interesting, twisted and all of the above. Rob Zombie accomplished the insane and over the top feeling he was intending to reach with the greatest of ease.. BUT...something felt like it may have been missing. It's definitely an acquired taste. Here's to hoping that the sequel fills the missing piece.
| Anyone who hasn't seen any horror exploitation flicks of the past (Texas Chainsaw massacre, Hills Have Eyes, etc) might be shocked or disturbed by this movie. For the rest of us, it's all been done before. Nothing unusually disturbing, definitely not scary. I just kept waiting for it to be over. | |
| 03-20-2004 by hoodjam | discuss |
| From what I've read so far, I guess that "disturbing" was the best adjective used to represent that flick. I loved it. I sure hope Rob Zombie decides to direct some more horror movies (but please, not a sequel...). That was one hell of a atmosphere based horror movie, just like TCM was at his time. | |
| 03-12-2004 by Nightmarian | discuss |
| >It works for TCM, which was created in 1978 TCM was filmed in 1973 and released in 1974. | |
| 03-11-2004 by lerxst | discuss |
| The review was a good one, I agree. It's obvious that when you watch the film Rob Zombie wore his heart on his sleeve, I admire that. I thought some of the scenes were pretty terrifying, like when you see flashes of the cheerleaders being butchered. The movie had balls. It disturbed me a bit, but I know I'll never forget the film. If Zombie directs a 2nd film I'll be there. | |
| 11-18-2003 by FangoFan | discuss |
| It's Rob | |
| Think of a person that loved the scaries form the B&W thru the 70s. THen make that person a musician, with aloof tastes and self-expression in everything they touch. Mix a dark side, comedy/et.al and you have the creator of this lovingly-made hommage to past scaries - Mr.Zombie. Artsy, full of represenation and love for the genre - not particularly scary, not evenn particulalrly gory... (give him a break, he's a musician, not a filmmaker) ;). Still, a wonderful, fun film. A respectful 'bow' to what has come before it. Bravo. | |
| 10-31-2003 by Timmy Libalow | discuss |